


Caving In

by Cathalinaheart



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, M/M, Podfic & Podficced Works, trapped in a cave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-08-14 07:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20188642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cathalinaheart/pseuds/Cathalinaheart
Summary: Steve and Tony are trapped in a cave and the charge in Tony's chestplate is running dangerously low.





	Caving In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lets_call_me_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/gifts).

> This is set at some unspecified time in early canon. Steve and the rest of the Avengers don't know who Iron Man is.
> 
> Thank you to [Serinah](/users/Serinah/) for betaing this.

They had been trapped inside this cave for the last hour and Steve still hadn’t made any progress on digging them out. Tony would have preferred to be able to help but that wasn’t happening any time soon. The armor had taken one too many hits and excessive movement was currently draining the power too fast. If his calculations were right, and who was he kidding, of course, they were right, the charge in the chestplate would last him another hour as long as he didn’t move too much. He felt bad for letting Steve do all the work, but if he were to start lifting rocks away, the charge would probably only last for 10 minutes tops. He shifted slightly to take the weight from his injured left side and groaned. Being stuck in the suit was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

‘You alright over there, Shellhead?’ Steve called out, sounding more strained than Tony would have liked.

Would the small amount of relief from taking off the helmet be worth the inevitable disappointment when Steve found out who Iron Man really was? On the other hand, the air in the cave was probably not much better than the one in the armor. ‘I’m fine. Are you okay? You have been at this for a while now, Winghead, and I saw you take that hit.’

‘I heal fast, no need to worry about me.’ Steve stopped his careful digging at the cave-in. ‘I’d feel better if I knew the others received our distress signal. I’m not sure how much good I’m doing here trying to dig us out. It all feels very unstable and I don’t want to cause another cave-in.’

'I'm sure you are doing fine, Steve.'

* * *

Twenty minutes later and Steve was still making progress at a glacial speed.

But Tony had noticed that the power had started to drain faster which meant he had less than 15 minutes to get out of the cave and charge his chestplate. He really didn't like his odds.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rumble followed by a crash.

'Fuck!' came a loud shout from Steve. He had moved the wrong rock and more had come tumbling down from the ceiling, eradicating any progress Steve had made so far.

_ So I am definitely going to die in here then, _ Tony thought miserably.

'It's okay Steve. I am sure the others are already on their way to rescue us.'

Tony didn't doubt that. Even if the others hadn't gotten the distress signal, Steve and he had been missing for long enough for them to have started a search. But without the location data of the signal, they would come too late for him. Steve would be fine though and that was all that mattered in the end.

'Are you sure you can wait that long for medical attention?' Steve asked looking at him, concerned.

_ Fuck it, I'm going to die anyway, _ Tony thought and answered Steve honestly. It would probably be cruel to lie at this point right? 'No. Though it's not the injuries that are the problem. The armor has lost too much power. I’ve got about 15 minutes left.' It felt frighteningly good to admit it. Maybe he should have tried telling Steve earlier.

'What?! Why?' Steve was looking at him with wide eyes.

'Because the armor, or more specifically the chestplate, keeps my heart beating. Think of it as a very large, very fancy pacemaker. I'm sorry Steve, I should have told you earlier.'

'Yes, you damn well should have. What were you thinking?' Steve clenched his fists.

‘I didn’t want to worry you, okay? It’s not like there is anything you can do. And don’t tell me you wouldn’t have benched me if you knew about my heart.’

‘That’s... I wouldn’t, Iron Man, you should know that. You are the best of us. But you still should have told me! We could’ve taken precautions for a situation exactly like this! How am I supposed to help you when I don’t even know what’s wrong?’

‘I have managed to survive thus far’, Tony replied.

All he got in return was an unimpressed stare.

‘Fine. You win. I should have told you. Happy?’

‘No, of course not. My best friend just told me he is going to die in less than 15 minutes. Are you sure there is nothing I can do?’

‘Not unless you’re carrying a car battery with you.’

‘That’s not part of my usual gear, no. I’m sorry. I just … I don’t know what to do.’

All the earlier anger seemed to have drained out of Steve. Now he just looked lost.

‘Just sit with me? I’d like your company.’ Tony patted the rough surface to his right. There was no point in Steve trying to dig them out faster, since that would only result in more rocks falling down. The whole area of the cave-in was just too unstable.

‘That’s the one thing I can always give you, Shellhead.’ Steve lowered himself down next to Tony. The cave fell silent.

After a while, Tony said, ‘Can I ask you for something? Since I’m already dying anyway?’ 

‘Sure, anything. But we will get out of here. Both of us. Alive.’ Steve was using his Captain America voice, the one full of conviction that could inspire anyone.

‘I love your optimism, Cap. I really do.’ Tony swallowed. ‘I love you, too. Did you know that?’ That wasn’t what Tony had originally planned on saying.

Steve’s eyes widened and he opened and closed his mouth a few times without speaking. Tony felt his heart clench in his chest. He was pretty sure that that wasn’t caused by the failing chestplate.

‘Guess I made this awkward. Good thing I won’t be around for much longer.’

‘Don’t speak like that’, Steve replied immediately. ‘Just...give me a second.' 

_ Great, now Steve is probably thinking of a way to let me down easy, just because I’m dying _, Tony thought bitterly to himself.

‘It’s okay, you don’t need to say anything.’ Tony turned his head away and closed his eyes. ‘It’s fine.’

‘No. I mean, I want to say something.’ Tony’s eyes snapped open and he turned back to facing Steve just in time to see him taking a deep breath and swallowing as if to brace himself for what he said next. ‘I’m also in love with you.’ He spoke so fast that Tony had trouble understanding him. ‘I think I’ve always loved you. You were the first person I saw in this century, you made this place feel like home. You made me feel like I belong, Shellhead. And I don’t think I can just sit here and watch you die.’ Tony only realised how tense Steve must have been before when he saw how much he had loosened up during his small speech. It was like a weight had been lifted of Steve’s shoulders.

‘Wait.’ Tony mentally replayed the words he’d just heard. ‘Hold on. You love me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Even though you don’t know who I am?’

‘Yes,’ Steve confirmed. He looked unwaveringly at Tony, with so much conviction in his eyes that Tony was nearly willing to believe him.

‘You might regret saying that.’ Tony took a deep breath and before he could change his mind he took off the helmet.

Steve’s eyes widened slightly, but otherwise nothing was telling Tony how Steve felt about the revelation. Tony felt his heart speeding up. He wasn’t sure if he was hoping to lose consciousness before Steve rejected him or if he wanted to know with certainty once and for all.

‘I don’t.’

That wasn’t the reaction Tony had expected. Confused, he frowned.

‘You don’t what?’

‘I don’t regret saying I love you.’

Tony’s sight was starting to become blurry, but the earnestness he could hear in Steve’s voice was still so clear that he could easily imagine what his face looked like.

This whole identity reveal scenario was going better than Tony had ever dared to hope. Except for the imminent death part, of course. It had to be Karma that Tony learned he could have had everything he ever wanted on his deathbed. He was regretting that he hadn’t told Steve earlier.

Steve took his face in his hands and locked eyes with him. ‘I love you.’ The way Steve spoke, so firm and deliberate, Tony could not help but believe him and that was honestly scary.

‘I love you, too’, Tony managed to get out before Steve was pressing their lips together. The kiss was short, but it had to be the best kiss Tony ever had. And it would probably be his last as well.

‘Earlier, you wanted to ask me for something?’ Steve’s breath was ghosting over Tony’s face since they were still very close together. Tony couldn’t decide between staring in Steve’s eyes or at his mouth. Tony wasn’t sure if the lightning in the cave was playing tricks on him, but it looked likes Steve’s eyes were starting to get a bit wet. Tony felt bad for his timing, it wasn’t fair to Steve to be left behind by someone he loved. Again.

‘You’re probably gonna laugh, but I wanted to ask you for a kiss,’ he answered truthfully. Steve’s mouth found his lips again.

Suddenly Steve froze and withdrew.

‘Did I do something wrong?’ Tony asked.

‘No. Shush.’ Steve put a finger to his lips and got up. He walked over to the wall of fallen rocks and pressed his ear against it.

Tony sat up straighter. If Steve was hearing something through the rocks then maybe the other Avengers had arrived. His guess was immediately confirmed by Steve.

‘I hear Jan! They are digging us out.’

Tony’s brain kicked into overdrive. He had about 10 minutes and it would still take some time to dig them out, so there wasn’t a lot of time left for an elegant solution.

‘Steve, please tell me that Thor is there as well.’

‘Yes, he is. Why?’

Tony gestured at his chestplate.

‘Oh. Are you sure that’s safe?’

Tony shrugged as well as he could in the armor. ‘Safer than dying anyway.’

It took nearly all of the time he had left for the others to get through to them. Tony was starting to have trouble breathing and his sight was getting increasingly worse. The only reason he managed to stay upright was the armor holding him in place. He feared that he might still die anyway and wouldn’t that just be his luck. But Tony was still conscious when the others broke through. Only when he heard Jan’s surprised ‘oh’ did he realize he never put his helmet back on. Oh well, they had to learn his identity at some point.

In the course of the last twenty-four hours Tony Stark had learned three things: One, Steve Rogers was in love with him; two, the Avengers were okay with his secret identity and wouldn’t kick him off the team; and three, the chestplate being recharged by Thor’s lightning hurt like a bitch. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Caving In](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21158171) by [Cathalinareads (Cathalinaheart)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cathalinaheart/pseuds/Cathalinareads)
  * [Breaking Through (The Caving In Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22683031) by [DepressingGreenie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressingGreenie/pseuds/DepressingGreenie)


End file.
